Bingham Farms, Michigan
Looking for a Bingham Farms home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Bingham Farms, seven days a week. Home inspection reports come back in 24 hours.
Schedule your inspectionCall 734-331-3269
Services
For buyers, sellers, and homeowners keeping an eye on the place they already own. On new construction we also do pre-drywall inspections and 11-month builder’s warranty inspections. Our certified inspectors walk every major system in your Bingham Farms home and tell you plainly what they found — then put it in a photo-rich digital report within 24 hours.
Following the InterNACHI Standards of Practice:
Included free with every home buyer inspection— and none of them require us to sell your information.
SatisfactionIf you are unhappy with your inspector on the day of the inspection, before you have seen your report, tell us and we will make it right — or you owe us nothing.
30-Day WarrantyA free 30-day Guard home warranty trial, negotiated for you with no obligation. Activate it whenever you are ready.
$100 OffThe buyer’s protection guarantee: if the first home we inspect for you does not make it to the closing table, for any reason, we take $100 off any further home buyer inspection within 30 days of the original.
Optional services at an additional cost — not part of a standard inspection. Tap one to see what it covers.
A camera down the main sewer line, watching its condition from the inside — roots, breaks, bellies and blockages no visual inspection can find. More about sewer scope inspections
The wood-destroying organism report VA buyers are typically asked to provide, on the federal NPMA-33 form. Carried out during the same visit. More about Veterans WDO inspections
Up to five air samples sent to an accredited laboratory, added to the same appointment rather than booked as a second visit. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Offices, retail, multifamily and warehouses in Bingham Farms and across Oakland County. Know what condition a building is in before you sign — or stay ahead of problems in the one you already own. Reports in 24 to 72 hours depending on size.
Following the CCPIA commercial standards:
Commonly added to a commercial inspection at additional cost.
Commercial laterals are longer, older and carry more. A camera is the only way to see the condition of the one you are buying. More about sewer scope inspections
Air samples to an accredited laboratory, which matters most in buildings that have sat empty or had a roof or plumbing leak. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Add either to a Bingham Farms home or commercial inspection, or book it on its own. We test and we never remediate, so there is nothing to sell you on the back of a result — the number you get is just the number.
Radon measured in house on a professional continuous monitor; mold samples to an accredited laboratory:
The other things worth testing while somebody is already there.
Carried out after remediation on the treated area and the areas next to it, to confirm what was found. More about mold inspection and testing
A damp basement can have several causes, and the buried sewer line is the one a visual inspection cannot check. A scope rules it in or out. More about sewer scope inspections
View a sample reportBingham Farms housing stock
Bingham Farms has roughly 509 housing units and about 54% of them are single-family detached. Housing that went up mostly in one era has mostly one era’s problems — which is genuinely useful to know before you buy, because it tells you what to look at first.
Most of it went up in the 1980s — 201 homes, around 39% of the town. It is also less detached-house territory than most of the area at 54%, so condominiums, duplexes and small multi-family buildings are a bigger share of what we inspect here — and those bring their own questions about what is yours to maintain and what belongs to the association.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $523,900. 94% are owner-occupied, which is high even for this area.
None of this is a prediction about a particular house. It is where a Bingham Farms home inspector starts looking in a home of this age, and what we photograph and write up either way.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Bingham Farms was built
89% of homes here run on utility gas. Another 3 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Bingham Farms is a modern village, and two things about it shape an inspection here more than anything else.
The first is that the building permit does not come from the village. For new construction, the village describes a route in which zoning and planning are handled locally — with an outside planning consultancy doing an initial review against the master plan and the zoning ordinance, then the planning commission, then the village council — and the approved plans then go to the City of Southfield building department for review and issue of the permits.
It does not end there either. For a certificate of occupancy, Southfield has to notify the village that all inspections are complete, and the village may impose additional requirements of its own, such as landscape plans, before it issues a final certificate. Two municipalities and an outside planner on one project.
That description is written for new construction, so if you are planning something smaller — a furnace, a deck, a basement finish — confirm the route with the village office rather than assuming it is the same. We are not going to guess on your behalf.
The second thing is the housing itself. About 201 of roughly 509 units date from the 1980s and another 101 from the 1990s, and around 46% of the stock is not a detached house. The village’s own account explains why: the 1980s brought major growth in office buildings and condominiums. So a great many inspections here are condominium inspections, which is a different exercise from a house.
Before you buy
Permits
The village’s new construction page sets the sequence out plainly, and it is worth understanding before you commit to anything that involves building work.
It starts with a strong recommendation to contact the village office as soon as conceptual plans exist. From there a developer may be directed to the village’s planning consultancy for an initial review, checking the proposal against the master plan and the zoning requirements. Then the planning commission for input, then the village council.
Only after village approval do two sets of plans, with the construction plans, go to the City of Southfield building department for review and permit issue. Southfield then carries out the inspections.
And the loop closes back at the village: Southfield must notify it that all inspections are complete before a certificate of occupancy, and the village may attach further requirements — landscape plans are the example it gives — before issuing a final certificate.
For a buyer the practical consequence is about records. Permit and inspection records for work done here may sit with Southfield rather than with the village, while zoning approvals and any final certificate conditions sit with the village. If you want the history of an address, you may need to ask in two places.
A home inspection is not a permit search or a code inspection, and we do not present it as one. What it does is establish what is physically present and in what condition, and flag work that looks as though it was done without the benefit of a permit — which, given a two-authority process, is worth having in writing. A buyer’s inspection is the usual starting point, and commercial building inspections to the CCPIA standard are available for the village’s substantial office stock.
Condominiums
With around 46% of the housing here not a detached house, and the village describing condominium development as the story of its 1980s growth, it is worth being clear about what an inspection of a condominium does and does not include.
We inspect the unit thoroughly: its interior finishes, its plumbing fixtures and accessible supply and drain lines, its electrical panel and receptacles, its heating and cooling equipment where the unit has its own, its windows and doors, and any part of the structure visible from inside. If the unit has its own water heater, furnace or air handler, those are inspected exactly as they would be in a house.
What sits outside the unit is a different matter. Roofs, exterior walls, foundations, grounds, drainage, shared corridors, shared mechanical plant and often the windows themselves are commonly common elements, maintained by the association rather than by the owner. We look at what we can see and reach, and we report on it — but we say plainly where something is outside the unit and where our access ended.
That is why the association documents matter as much as the inspection on a condominium purchase. The master deed and bylaws define where your responsibility stops, and the association’s financial position determines whether the common elements can actually be maintained. We have no visibility of any of that and we make no claim about any association here. Ask for the documents and read them.
The useful combination is both: an inspection tells you the condition of what you are buying and what you can see of the building around it; the documents tell you who pays for which part of it. Neither answers the other’s question.
Access is the practical constraint. Getting into shared plant rooms, roof spaces or basements usually needs arranging with the association in advance, so tell us what the building is when you book and we will scope it properly rather than discovering the limitation on the day.
The buildings
With 201 units from the 1980s and 101 from the 1990s, the typical building here is thirty-five to forty-five years old. That is past the first replacement round and into the second, which changes what matters.
Much of the original equipment has already been replaced once, so the question becomes how well that was done and how much life the replacement has left. A furnace fitted in the early 2000s is itself now approaching the end of its service life. A roof covering replaced twenty years ago is due again. Water heaters are typically on their third.
We look closely at the quality of second-generation work, because that is where the mismatches are: venting that was never quite right, condensate arrangements that go nowhere useful, electrical connections left behind by equipment that has since been removed.
Electrical panels of that era are frequently overfilled, with circuits added over four decades by different hands. We look for double-tapped breakers, mixed wiring types meeting in the same box, and any evidence of overheating at connections.
Windows are a mixed picture: some original, some replaced once, occasionally both on the same building. Failed seals in double glazing show as clouding or deposits between the panes and we note them individually. On a condominium, whether the windows are yours or the association’s is one of the first things to establish.
Decks and balconies need their connections, flashing, fasteners and supports genuinely examined rather than glanced at, because those failures are among the few that injure people. Radon testing and mold inspection and testing can be added to any visit.
Drainage
The village covers about 1.25 square miles, per its own published figures, and its development is comparatively planned, with landscaping treated seriously enough that landscape plans appear as a possible condition of a final certificate of occupancy.
On a detached house here we record where the downspouts terminate and whether they carry water clear of the walls or drop it at the foundation, where any sump pump discharges and whether there is a backup arrangement, and how the ground falls away from the building. Grading that was correct in 1985 has had forty years of planting and settlement since, and mature landscaping is one of the commoner reasons water ends up against a wall.
On a condominium the same observations get made, but the responsibility usually sits with the association — so the finding becomes something to raise with them rather than something to price into your own budget. We still report it, because you need to know whether the building you are buying into is being looked after.
Inside, we look for what past water has left behind: staining and tide lines on foundation walls, efflorescence and mineral deposits, replaced lower wall finishes, and corrosion at the base of mechanical equipment.
A finished lower level deserves a careful look rather than a quick one, because finishing is very often what conceals the evidence.
The buried line
On a detached house, the line running out from the building belongs to the owner, no visual inspection reaches inside it, and at thirty-five to forty-five years old it is well within the range where roots and settlement cause real problems.
On a condominium, the drain line beyond the unit is very often a common element — which does not make it irrelevant to you, because the cost of dealing with it reaches you through the association rather than around it.
We will not name a material from a build year. Nothing published establishes what lines here are generally made of, and a guess in a report is worse than no statement at all.
A sewer camera inspection records what is actually inside: roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and a clear run where they do not. On mature, well-planted sites — which describes most of this village — roots are the common finding and they give no warning until the day the drains back up.
A camera inspection is added to the same appointment rather than booked separately, and we deliver a full written report with photographs, generally the same day. You can read what our clients say, browse answers to common questions, or get in touch about a specific address in Bingham Farms.
Local information from Village of Bingham Farms — new construction and the permit route · Village of Bingham Farms — statistics and village history · Village of Bingham Farms — business section · Village of Bingham Farms — about the village. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Oakland County
Zone 2 is the middle EPA category — the predicted average indoor level across the county sits between 2 and 4 pCi/L. What a zone cannot tell you is anything about one house: 29% of tests actually run in Oakland County still came back at or above the EPA’s 4 pCi/L action level. A zone is a prediction of an average, and nobody lives in an average.
We place a continuous monitor for 48 hours and read the result on site — no mail-in kit, no lab wait. How radon testing works · Oakland County radon and inspection coverage
Zone from the EPA Map of Radon Zones. Elevated-result share from the Michigan Indoor Radon Program.
Why choose us
Five reasons people here pick us as their Bingham Farms home inspector.
Family owned since 2009, more than 16,000 inspections completed and over 2,000 five-star reviews across Michigan. We also handle home buyer inspections, commercial building inspections, mold testing and radon testing.
We do not sell mold remediation or radon mitigation, so there is nothing to gain from a result that comes back bad. The number you get is just the number.
Radon, mold, sewer scope and wood-destroying organism inspections go on the same appointment as the home inspection rather than costing you a second morning.
Most people do, and it is the most useful hour of the whole purchase. Ask anything while we are standing in front of it.
InterNACHI and CCPIA certified, with four Certified Master Inspectors and National Home Inspector Examination passes on the team — none of which Michigan requires. The standards we inspect to are published and you can hold the work against them.
Including weekends, because inspection windows sit on closing dates and closing dates do not care what day it is.
Reviews
I recently hired Trademark for a full home inspection on a new purchase, including sewer scope and radon testing. It was a phenomenal experience from beginning to end. Our inspector, Mitch, did a fantastic job explaining all the findings, and the digital report with photos and videos was superb. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.
Salina HamiltonOak Park, MIWe had Mitch inspect our prospective house and he was amazing. He was thorough, patient to answer my questions and provide feedback on what areas he would recommend having a follow up expert and why. The office was responsive and I was able to book multiple services to be done in the same visit (inspection, radon test, sewer scope).
Chris PlaweckiOak Park, MIExcellent sums up the entire experience, from the initial call to set up the appointment with staff that was informative and helpful, up until the actual inspection that was very professional and thorough with any and all questions I had answered. I would highly recommend Trademark to anyone who needs inspection services. Thanks again Curt, my inspector, for an excellent job.
Johnny Thomas JrSouthfield, MIWhat happens
Questions
For new construction, the village describes approved plans going to the City of Southfield building department for review and permit issue, after the village has dealt with zoning and planning. Southfield then carries out the inspections.
We do not know. The village’s published route is written for new construction, so for something smaller confirm the process with the village office rather than assuming it is the same.
The village. Southfield must notify it that all inspections are complete, and the village may impose additional requirements — landscape plans are its own example — before issuing a final certificate.
Possibly in two places. Building permit and inspection records may sit with Southfield while zoning approvals and certificate conditions sit with the village, so ask both if you want a full history.
Yes, and they are common here — around 46% of the housing stock is not a detached house. We inspect the unit thoroughly and report what we can see and reach of the building around it, stating plainly where something is a common element and where access ended.
It cannot tell you who pays for what. Roofs, exterior walls, grounds, drainage and shared plant are commonly the association’s responsibility. The master deed, bylaws and association finances answer that, and we have no visibility of them.
Thirty-five to forty-five years. About 201 of roughly 509 units date from the 1980s and 101 from the 1990s, with only around 28 predating 1940. The village describes the 1980s as its period of major office and condominium growth.
On a detached house, yes — a forty-year-old line on a mature, well-planted lot is exactly where roots turn up. On a condominium the line beyond the unit is often a common element, but the cost still reaches you through the association. A camera inspection goes on the same visit.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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Permits, assessing and property records for Bingham Farms are handled by Bingham Farms, Michigan, not by us.
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